GPS trackers showed my route was 2 miles off, here's how

I pulled my GPS logs from last month's trip along the Superior Hiking Trail and compared them to the official maps. Turns out that trail reroute near the Baptism River added almost 2 miles that no one mentions on the forums. I only caught it because I synced my watch data with the park service PDF. Has anyone else found hidden detours like that on other routes?

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the_derek20d ago

GPS logs are just a snapshot of where you were, not proof the trail actually moved... maybe your watch lost signal under the tree cover and added those miles on its own. I've seen that happen plenty of times in the north woods, the data looks clean but it's really just drifting. If the park service pdf and the official trail markers say one thing, I'd trust the ground over the gadget.